Taxol is a prescription medication used to treat cancer, including ovarian, breast, and lung cancer, and Kaposi's sarcoma. Taxol belongs to a group of drugs called taxanes. It works by stopping the growth and spread of cancer cells.
This medication comes in an injectable form to be given directly into a vein (IV) by a healthcare provider.
Common side effects of Taxol include low blood cell count, hair loss, and joint or muscle pain.
Taxol is a prescription medicine used to treat some forms of cancer including:
This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
For more information on this medication choose from the list of selections below.
Taxol is part of the drug class:
The most common side effects of Taxol include:
This is not a complete list of this medication’s side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:
This is not a complete list of Taxol drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
Serious side effects have been reported with Taxol including the following:
Do not receive Taxol if:
Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with Taxol and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit products with your doctor.
Before receiving Taxol, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.
This medication falls into category D. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. Based on its mechanism of action and findings in animals, Taxol can harm your unborn baby. You should not become pregnant while receiving Taxol. Women who may become pregnant should use effective birth control (contraception). Talk to your doctor about the best way to prevent pregnancy while receiving Taxol.
Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.
It is not known if Taxol passes into your breast milk. It is not known if Taxol passes into your breast milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. You and your doctor should decide if you will receive Taxol or breastfeed.
Taxol is injected into a vein (intravenous [IV] infusion) by your healthcare provider.
Your doctor will prescribe Taxol in an amount that is right for you.
Your doctor may prescribe medication before receiving Taxol to prevent allergic reactions.
Your doctor should do regular blood tests while you receive Taxol.
The actual dose and total length of therapy will be determined by your doctor.
Taxol is usually administered by a healthcare provider in a medical setting making it unlikely for an overdose to occur. However, if overdose is suspected, seek emergency medical attention.
Taxol should be administered under the supervision of a physician experienced in the use of cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Appropriate management of complications is possible only when adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities are readily available.
Anaphylaxis and severe hypersensitivity reactions characterized by dyspnea and hypotension requiring treatment, angioedema, and generalized urticaria have occurred in 2 to 4% of patients receiving paclitaxel in clinical trials. Fatal reactions have occurred in patients despite premedication. All patients should be pretreated with corticosteroids, diphenhydramine, and H2 antagonists. Patients who experience severe hypersensitivity reactions to Taxol should not be rechallenged with the drug.
Taxol therapy should not be given to patients with solid tumors who have baseline neutrophil counts of less than 1500 cells/mm3 and should not be given to patients with AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma if the baseline neutrophil count is less than 1000 cells/mm3. In order to monitor the occurrence of bone marrow suppression, primarily neutropenia, which may be severe and result in infection, it is recommended that frequent peripheral blood cell counts be performed on all patients receiving Taxol.
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